Carburetor heater for internal combustion engines



J. DRISCOLL Sept, 6, 193.8.

CARBURETOR HEATER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed June 10, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l Joseph D/"zlscaZZ ATTORNEYS Sept. 6, 1938. J. DRISCOLL 2,129,571

CARBURETOR HEATER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed June 10, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J55 epiz Drz's Q0 Z Z INVENTOR ATTO RN EYs Patented Sept. 6, 1938 UNITED STATES CARBURETOR. HEATER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Joseph Driscoll,

Application June 10,

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to an attachment for a carburetor of the type generally used with internal combustion engines.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of an attachment to the carburetor of an internal combustion engine that will greatly facilitate the starting of the engine in extremely cold weather.

A further object of the invention is the prol0 vision of a device adapted to heatcold air drawn from the atmosphere and, after heating, conveying it thru the carburetor and into the engine,

- thus causing the gas to be more rapidly ignited. A still further object of the invention is the provision of a device that may be mounted without difficulty to the carburetor of an engine and adapted to heat and convey heated air into the carburetor utilizing mechanical means for controlling the entrance of the heated air.

sively understood from a consideration of the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings which form part of the application.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view illustrating the device attached to a carburetor. I

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device and showing in section the air filter tube.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged front elevational view similar to Fig. 1 with the carburetor and air filter cap omitted.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view thru the electrical heating means.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-8 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. '7 is a detailed wiring diagram of the elec- 40 trical circuit used in the device.

It is well known that considerable difl'lculty'is experienced with the starting of an internal combustion engine in cold weather. It is also well known that by preheating theair entering the 45 carburetor a more rapid' starting is in effect. The present invention is, therefore, designed to serve to preheat and feed to the carburetor heated air which is in turn carried into the engine causing the gas to ignite in a more rapid manner.

Referring to the drawings for a more detailed description thereof, the numeral Ill indicates generally a carburetor attached to an intake manifold ll of an internal combustion engine, not shown. The carburetor I0 .is of the down draft type and the invention is disclosed there- The invention will be fully and comprehen-- New York, N. Y.

1936, Serial No. 84,547

with for purposes of illustration only, it being understood that-the device, with slight modification, is applicable with any type carburetor.

The preheating attachment indicated generally by the numeral I2 is attached to the air filter pipe l3 of the carburetor Ill by removal of the filter cap I 4. By referring to Fig. 3 of the drawings it will be noted that the attachment I! includes a circular section l5 that is slidable on the filter pipe l3 and attached thereto by any desired means. After placement of the section IS on the filter tube I 3 the cap I4 is then replaced and the carburetor is adapted to function in its normal manner.

Extending from the circular section l5 and integral therewith, is a metallic heater casing [6 in the form of a conduit which conveys the air to the carburetor II] that has been heated thru the heating mechanism ll. The heater casing or conduit i6 is elbow-shaped so as to space the heating mechanism H from the engine and permit the entrance of atmospheric air for heating purposes. A butterfly valve I8 is supported within the casing l6 and is actuated in unison with a second butterfly valve l9 provided in the filter tube I3. The means for actuating the valves l8 and I9 will be hereinafter described.

The heating mechanism ll includes a casing 29 which is preferably constructed of metal and integral with the case it and of the shape illus-' trated in Fig. 5 of the drawings. A second casing 2i is frictionally held within the casing 20 and said second casing provides a dead air space 22 for insulating purposes. The casing 20 is preferably insulated so as to create a more rapid heating of the incoming atmospheric air, since said air will not directly contact the walls of said casing, which normally would be in a cold condition. The casing 2| has attached thereto by any desired means a perforated cover plate 23, and a second perforated cover plate 24 is held in engagement with said plate 23. By rotation of the plate 24 the perforations of the plates 23 and 24 may be brought into alignment for entrance of atmospheric air into the central chamber 25. The means for heating the air drawn into the chamber 25 includes a bulb 2s adjustably supported within the casing 20. The bulb 26 is adjustable by rotation of the threaded screw shaft 21 thru means of the knurled cap 28 r at its outer end and which actuates the bracket arms 29 of the socket 30, which arms are threadedly received on the screw shaft 21. The inner end of the screw shaft 21 is journalled in a support 3| attachedto the inner casing 2|. Current butterfly valve l0.

adapted to seat on bearing members 4!, see Fig. 4,

is supplied to the bulb 2! by means oi the wire 82 which is connected to a battery or other source and is threaded thru the plates 23 and 24 thru the insulating member a supported in the central portion of said plates.

The means for controlling the admission of heated air into the carburetor and also the means for actuating the heating mechanism is preferably controlled from the dash board the vehicle. Provision is made whereby the butterfly valves in the heating casing II and the air filter pipe II. are simultaneously controlled and when actuating the same the bulb 28 ot the heating mechanism is illuminated in addition to a pilot or signal light supported in the dash board. The numeral 34 indicates a control rod extending irom the actuating mechanism to the dash of a vehicle, not shown. A knob portion ii is attached to the outer end of a wire 28, which wire is slidable within the cable 24 and the opposite end 81 is connected to an arm 2| 0! a bell crank lever 29. The end ll 0! the lever 29 is provided with a cam-shaped slot 4i adapted to receive a depending arm 42 carried by the horizontal strip lever 43 and adapted to actuate the same. The iree end of said lever II is slidable in a guide bracket ll attached to the casing it. Also connected to the lever 42 is an L-shaped link It ilxedly secured to a shaft 4, which shaft supports the butterfly valve ll maintained within the heating casing II. A second L-shaped link 41 is attached to the outer end of the lever 42 which is in turn secured to a shaft II, which extends thru the section II and supports thereon the The butterfly 'valve is is of which there are two disposed in diiierent planes within the casing I! so as to provide a sealing means to prevent the entrance of air when said valve is in closed position. From the description of the actuating means it will be noted that a pressure inwardly on the wire 30 supported within the cable ll, will serve to actuate the lever 39, whereupon the horizontal lever I! will be moved in the direction of the arrow 50 to open the valve I! and close the valve it, said valves being actuated thru the links 44 and 41, respectively, which are attached to the horizontal lever 3. When in this position, air is admitted to the carburetor thru the filter cap i4 and the heating mechanism is in its inoperative position. By pulling on the wire 38, the lever 39 will be actuated and the horizontal lever 43 will then move in the direction of the arrow to close the valve l8 and simultaneously open the valve I8 so that air heated within the casing i1 will be admitted into the carburetor and cylinders.

As previously described, operation of the actuating mechanism for the valves i8 and I! will at the same time make and break an electrical circuit to the bulb 26 of the heating mechanism and pilot light carried by the dash. The shaft 40 also carries on the end opposite the valve IS a swinging contact member 52, which member moves with the rotation of the shaft 48 caused by actuation of the arms 42 and I1, respectively. The contact arm- 52 supports thereon a nonconducting element 53 at the lowermost portion thereof and in addition thereto carries a conducting element 54 attached to said non-conducting element 52. Contact members 55 and 56 are carried by and insulated from a bracket member 51 attached to the mechanism in any desired manner and current is supplied to said contact members 55 and it from the battery or other source of power. The contact member ll controls the illumination of the bulb 2 within the casing l I and the contact member I. is connected directly to the pilot or signal lamp 82. In Fig. 3 of the drawings the contacts are shown in full lines with the heating device in operation. In other words, contact is made thru the conductor N and contact member II so as to complete a circuit to the bulb 2!. The contact member 50 comprises a pair of normally contacting shaft 48 and since said contact arm 52 is carried on the shaft ll it moves in unison therewith. The electrical circuit utilized is illustrated in Fig. 7 of the drawings wherein the numeral ll indicates the pilot light. The circuit is connected thru an ammeter I! to the battery I and grounded at ii. In said diagram it will be noted that the switch or contact element It is normally closed while the contact I is opened and closed by means of the pivotal arm 52 so as to make and break the circuit to the bulb 20 which bulb is also grounded, as indicated at 62.

In the operation of the device herein described, when desiring to start an internal combustion engine in cold weather and'prior to the use of the electrical starting means, the wire it is pulled outwardly by grasping the knob portion ll, which action actuates the levers il and II to open the valve II and close the valve ll. It is understood that the valve I9 is closed so as to prevent the entrance of cold air thru the illter cap ll. The means for opening and closing the valves is and I9, respectively, also moves the pivotal contact arm 52 from the position illustrated in dot and dash lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings to the position illustrated in full lines, at which time the bulb 26 is illuminated and also the pilot light II, which pilot light serves to signal that the device is in operation. The starting mechanism is actuated whereby atmospheric air will be drawn into the casing ll thru the openings provided in the covers 23 and 24 and said air is heated as it is conveyed past the bulb 26 into the casing ii. In extremely cold weather it may be necessary to adjust the bulb 26 toward the outlet so as to reduce the space of the outlet thereby increasing the heating of the air as it is conveyed therethru. The adjusting means comprises the threaded shaft 2'! and knurled portion 28, upon rotation of which moves the bracket 29 that supports the socket of the bulb 26. After an interval of time, sufficient heated air has been discharged into the carburetor i3 so as to heat the gas and upon again actuating the starting means, the ignition switch will be turned on.

The feature of the electrical system being connected thru the ammeter will serve to indicate on the ammeter when the bulb 26 is illuminated since, when said bulb is illuminated, the ammeter will show a greater discharge than when not il-. luminat'ed. The utility of the pilot light It is to indicate to the operator when the device is in operation since it is preferable to discontinue operation of the device after the" motor'has 7s started. Discontinuance is brought into effect by pushing forward on the wire 36 which, thru the action of the levers 39 and 43, will close the valve I8 and open the valve l9, and at the same time break the circuit to the heating mechanism.

It is to'be understood that this improvement is capable of extended application and is not confined to the exact showing of the drawings nor to the precise construction described and, therefore, such changes and modifications may be made therein as do not affect the spirit of the invention nor exceed the scope thereof as expressed in the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is:

1. The combination with a carburetor having an inlet pipe, of means for supplying heated ai r -to said carburetor and including a conduit attached to said inlet pipe, valve means in said pipe and conduit, means for actuating said valve means for alternately opening and closing the same, heating means including a casing attached to said conduit, adjustable air inlet means for said casing, an electrical heating element movable in said casing toward and away from the inlet end of the conduit, manual means for moving said heating element and means associated with said valve actuating means for operating in unison therewith and for controlling a circuit to said heating element.

2. The combination with a carburetor having an air inlet pipe, of means for supplying heated air to said carbureter and including a conduit attached to said inlet pipe, valve, means in said pipe and conduit, means for actuating said valve means for alternatelyv opening and closing the same, heating means including a casing attached to the conduit, an electrical heating element including a lamp bulb, a socket therefor, screw means rotatably mounted in the casing and having the socket threadedly connected thereto for adjusting the bulb toward and away from the inlet end of the conduit, means for admitting atmospheric air into said casing, means for adjusting the admitting means, and means associated with said valve actuating means for operation in unison therewith and for controlling a circuit to said heating element.

3. The combination with a carburetor having an air inlet pipe, of means for supplying heated air to said carburetor and including a conduit communicating with the air inlet pipe, valve means in said pipe and conduit, means for actuating said valve means for alternately opening and closing the same, heating means including a casing mounted on said conduit, adjustable air inlet means for said casing, a second casing within and spaced from the first casing and comprising a dead air space therebetween, an electrical heating element within the casings, means for adjusting the electrical heating element toward and away from the inlet end of the conduit and including a screw shaft rotatably mounted in the casing and extending therefrom, means on the electrical heating element and threaded on the shaft to be supported thereby and for movement thereon, means on the outer end of the shaft for rotating the same, bracket means extending from the first casing, and means mounted on the bracket means and having the'valve actuating means connected thereto for operation therewith in unison and for controlling a circuit to said electrical heating element.

' 4. The combination with a carburetor having an air inlet pipe, of means for supplying heated air to said carburetor and including a conduit attached to said inlet pipe, a valve in the inlet pipe, a valve in the conduit, a shaft for each valve, links on the shafts, a guide bracket on the conduit, a lever slldably mounted in the guide bracket and having the links pivotally secured thereto, heating means including a casing attached to the conduit, adjustable air inlet means for said casing, a bracket on the casing, a bell crank lever pivotally secured to the latter bracket and having a cam slot in one of the arms thereof, means on the first lever and mounted in the slot for reciprocating the first lever upon movement of the bell crank lever for alternately opening and closing the valves, means for actuating the bell crank lever, an electrical heating element within the casing and adjustable toward and away from the inlet end of the conduit,

and means mounted on the last mentioned i,

bracket and one of the shafts for operating in unison with the valves fo r'controlling a circuit to the electrical heating element.

JOSEPH DRISCOLL. 

